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Girls’ Tennis: Gerdau, Sharf keep winning for CdM

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In one year, Riley Gerdau has made the switch from sacrificial lamb to tiger on the prowl for the Corona del Mar High girls’ tennis team.

Gerdau played in singles last year as a junior. She got some good wins on a good team, one that advanced to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 semifinals. But the Sea Kings have not followed the same road to success that many other top Southern California programs follow.

They have relied on their strength in doubles the past couple of years. When Gerdau, a four-year starter, took the court in singles, she was often matched up against a girl with a high ranking in the United States Tennis Assn. Southern California 16s or 18s.

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In one memorable set, Gerdau took on Ena Shibahara of Palos Verdes Peninsula, who was top-ranked in the country in the 16s and most recently played in the junior girls’ U.S. Open in New York. To Gerdau, though, the experience wasn’t very memorable at all.

“When I was playing singles, I really, really disliked it,” Gerdau said. “I wasn’t used to losing every single match. It wasn’t fun for me. It was so bad. I felt like I had no purpose on the team. It brought my confidence down so much.”

When CdM went to the California Tennis Classic tournament in Fresno last year, Gerdau didn’t win any sets. But the opposite was true this year with Gerdau at her new spot, No. 1 doubles with partner Siena Sharf.

Gerdau and Sharf helped CdM win the prestigious tournament last weekend for the second straight year. And, this year, all they have been doing is winning for the Sea Kings.

“Now I’m with Siena, and we win,” Gerdau said with a laugh. “And it’s great.”

They swept their doubles sets in Fresno. So did CdM’s other doubles teams, consisting of Jasie Dunk and Paige Kenerson, as well as Taylor Fogarty and Erica Chen.

CdM (3-0) has not lost a doubles set at all in the early season. Yet, repeating in Fresno didn’t seem like a sure thing. CdM lost its No. 1 singles player (Lauren Thaxter) and doubles team (Kenzie Purcifull and Kimmia Naaseh) to graduation. Freshman No. 1 singles player Danielle Willson wasn’t in Fresno, opting to play a national junior tournament for valuable ranking points. And Dunk would have been playing singles, but was forced into doubles with a shoulder injury.

CdM still got the job done, as players like Elena Fish, Bella Gerken and Shelby Anderson earned some big singles victories. It wasn’t an easy path to the title. In the Northern California format of four singles sets and three doubles, CdM edged Doughtery Valley of San Ramon in the quarterfinals, Menlo School of Atherton in the semifinals and Santa Barbara in the championship match. Each time, the score was 4-3.

Gerdau and Sharf, the Daily Pilot Athletes of the Week, had a particularly strong showing despite the triple-digit heat in Fresno. Sharf said that the heat required them to wear visors, which are generally considered a fashion no-no among members of the team. Gerdau and Sharf still impressed Coach Brian Ricker in the Santa Barbara match, defeating a strong doubles team of Lexy Gulden and Cade Sorensen, 6-3, 6-1.

“They’re playing really aggressive tennis without making many errors,” Ricker said. “It’s power doubles, for sure. They’re hitting at the net person, winning points on overheads, going down the alley a lot. We have haven’t had a team play this aggressive that I can remember, ever, at CdM.”

They had a strong summer playing tournaments together, winning the title at the Chapman University tournament. But their season goal, to go undefeated as a doubles team, also is aggressive with the challenging schedule that CdM plays. Sharf called it “a reach,” though sometimes it’s good to aim high.

Sharf, who had doubles success with Dunk last year, is physically intimidating in her pairing with Gerdau. She can use her 5-foot-9 height to create havoc at the net. And she is the more emotional of the two players, as well.

“I think I get more frustrated, but Riley kind of whips me back into shape,” Sharf said. “She gets a little mad at me.”

Gerdau again began to laugh.

“I don’t take sass on the court,” she said. “I really dislike sass. I’m not saying Siena’s sassy, but when people are sassy to us, Siena’s not going to be super-nice back [to them]. But neither of us are very [vocal] like, ‘Come on, let’s go!’

“We haven’t really had a match to test our emotions. I’m expecting that when we have a tougher match, we’ll see our competitive sides come out.”

Tougher tests are definitely sure to come. The always intense Battle of the Bay match against rival Newport Harbor is on Tuesday at CdM. The following Tuesday, Sept. 23, the Sea Kings play at defending Division 1 champion Peninsula.

Don’t expect Gerdau and Sharf to be intimidated.

In Fresno, they saw a glimpse of just how dominant they can become.

“It was our first real competition as a doubles team, and I thought that we stepped up,” Gerdau said. “We had some harder matches toward the end, and we still kept playing how we wanted to keep playing. It was better than I’ve ever seen us play. It’s making me more excited for the season, knowing our potential and trying to live up to that potential.”

Riley Gerdau

Born: May 13, 1997

Hometown: Newport Beach

Height: 5-foot-6

Sport: Tennis

Year: Senior

Coach: Brian Ricker

Favorite food: Fish

Favorite movie: “22 Jump Street”

Favorite athletic moment: Making the CdM varsity girls’ tennis team as a freshman.

Week in review: Gerdau and partner Siena Sharf swept their sets in a nonleague match against Sage Hill and at the California Tennis Classic, helping CdM win the prestigious tournament for the second straight year.

Siena Sharf

Born: May 18, 1998

Hometown: Newport Beach

Height: 5-foot-9

Sport: Tennis

Year: Junior

Coach: Brian Ricker

Favorite food: Macaroni and cheese

Favorite movie: “Bridesmaids”

Favorite athletic moment: Making the CdM varsity girls’ tennis team as a freshman.

Week in review: Sharf and partner Riley Gerdau swept their sets in a nonleague match against Sage Hill and at the California Tennis Classic, helping CdM win the prestigious tournament for the second straight year.

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